Editing Hudson's Bay Company (section)

== 17th century history ==
[[File:Ruperts land.svg|thumb|[[Rupert's Land]], an area that encompasses the drainage basin of the [[Hudson Bay]]]]

For much of the 17th century, the French colonists in North America, based in [[New France]], operated a ''de facto'' [[monopoly]] in the North American [[fur trade]]. Two [[French colonization of the Americas|French]] traders, [[Pierre-Esprit Radisson]] and [[Médard des Groseilliers]] (Médard de Chouart, Sieur des Groseilliers), Radisson's brother-in-law, learned from the [[Cree]] that the best fur country lay north and west of [[Lake Superior]], and that there was a "frozen sea" still further north.{{sfn|Newman|1985|p=[https://archive.org/details/companyofadventu0000newm_w0f1/page/64 64]}} Assuming this was Hudson Bay, they sought French backing for a plan to set up a trading post on the Bay in order to reduce the cost of moving furs overland. According to [[Peter C. Newman]], "concerned that exploration of the Hudson Bay route might shift the focus of the fur trade away from the [[St. Lawrence River]], the French governor", [[Pierre de Voyer d'Argenson, Vicomte de Mouzay|Marquis d'Argenson]] (in office 1658–61), "refused to grant the [[Coureur des bois|coureurs des bois]] permission to scout the distant territory".{{sfn|Newman|1985|p=[https://archive.org/details/companyofadventu0000newm_w0f1/page/64 64]}} Despite this refusal, in 1659 Radisson and Groseilliers set out for the upper Great Lakes basin. A year later they returned to Montreal with premium furs, evidence of the potential of the Hudson Bay region. Subsequently, they were arrested by French authorities for trading without a licence and fined, and their furs were confiscated by the government.<ref name="Radisson">{{Cite web |title=Our History: People: Explorers: Radisson and des Groseilliers |url=http://hbcheritage.ca/hbcheritage/history/people/explorers/radisson.asp |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151016215139/http://www.hbcheritage.ca/hbcheritage/history/people/explorers/radisson.asp |archive-date=16 October 2015 |access-date=7 October 2015 |website=HBC Heritage}}</ref>

Determined to establish trade in the Hudson Bay area, Radisson and Groseilliers approached a group of English colonial merchants in [[Boston]] to help finance their explorations. The Bostonians agreed on the plan's merits, but their speculative voyage in 1663 failed when their ship ran into [[Sea ice|pack ice]] in the [[Hudson Strait]]. Boston-based English commissioner Colonel George Cartwright learned of the expedition and brought the two to England to raise financing.{{sfn|Newman|1985|p=[https://archive.org/details/companyofadventu0000newm_w0f1/page/64 64]}} Radisson and Groseilliers arrived in London in 1665 at the height of the [[Great Plague of London|Great Plague]]. Eventually, the two met and gained the sponsorship of [[Prince Rupert of the Rhine|Prince Rupert]]. Prince Rupert introduced the two to his cousin, the reigning king – [[Charles II of England|Charles II]].{{sfn|Newman|1985|p=65}} In 1668 the English expedition acquired two ships, the [[Nonsuch (1650 ship)|''Nonsuch'']] and the ''Eaglet'', to explore possible trade into Hudson Bay. Groseilliers sailed on the ''Nonsuch'', commanded by Captain [[Zachariah Gillam]], while the ''Eaglet'' was commanded by Captain William Stannard and accompanied by Radisson. On 5 June 1668, both ships left port at [[Deptford]], England, but the ''Eaglet'' was forced to turn back off the coast of Ireland.<ref name="Radisson" />{{sfn|Rich|1958|pp=36, 38, 42}}

The ''Nonsuch'' continued to [[James Bay]], the southern portion of Hudson Bay, where its explorers founded, in 1668, the first fort on Hudson Bay, Charles Fort<ref>{{Cite web |title=1668: Des Groseilliers aboard the 12-metre ship Nonsuch travels to James Bay |url=http://hbcheritage.ca/content/timeline |access-date=5 October 2015 |website=HBC Heritage – Timeline |archive-date=1 October 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151001221218/http://hbcheritage.ca/content/timeline |url-status=dead}}</ref> at the mouth of the [[Rupert River]]. It later became known as "Rupert House", and developed as the community of present-day [[Waskaganish]], Quebec. Both the [[fort]] and the river were named after the sponsor of the expedition, Prince Rupert of the Rhine, one of the major investors and soon to become the new company's first governor. After a successful trading expedition over the winter of 1668–69, ''Nonsuch'' returned to England on 9 October 1669 with the first cargo of fur resulting from trade in Hudson Bay.<ref name="Radisson" /> The bulk of the fur – worth £1,233 – was sold to Thomas Glover, one of London's most prominent furriers. This and subsequent purchases by Glover proved the viability of the fur trade in Hudson Bay.{{sfn|Rich|1958|pp=38, 42}}

{{anchor|Hudson's Bay Company Act 1689}}
{{Infobox UK legislation
| short_title           = Hudson's Bay Company Act 1689
| type                  = Act
| parliament            = Parliament of England
| long_title            = An Act for confirming to the Governor and Company trading to Hudson's Bay, their Privileges and Trade.
| year                  = 1689
| citation              = [[2 Will. & Mar.]] c. ''15''
| introduced_commons    =
| introduced_lords      =
| territorial_extent    =
| royal_assent          = 20 May 1690
| commencement          =
| expiry_date           =
| repeal_date           =
| amends                =
| replaces              =
| amendments            =
| repealing_legislation =
| related_legislation   =
| status                =
| legislation_history   =
| theyworkforyou        =
| millbankhansard       =
| original_text         =
| revised_text          =
| use_new_UK-LEG        =
| UK-LEG_title          =
| collapsed             = yes
}}

[[File:In 1671 the Hudson's Bay Company sold its first furs, in London.png|thumb|Depiction of the first sale of Hudson's Bay fur at [[Garraway's Coffee House]] in London, 1671]]
A royal charter from King Charles II incorporated "The Governor and Company of Adventurers of England, trading into Hudson's Bay" on 2 May 1670.<ref name="charter" /> The charter granted the company a monopoly over the region drained by all rivers and streams flowing into Hudson Bay in northern parts of present-day Canada, taking possession on behalf of England. The area was named "[[Rupert's Land]]"<ref>{{Cite web |year=2015 |orig-year=1670 |title=Royal Charter of the Hudson's Bay Company |url=http://hbcheritage.ca/hbcheritage/collections/archival/charter/charter |access-date=3 December 2020 |website=HBC Heritage |publisher=Hudson's Bay Company |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151007100328/http://hbcheritage.ca/hbcheritage/collections/archival/charter/charter |archive-date=7 October 2015 |quote=[...] the said Land be from henceforth reckoned and reputed as one of our Plantations or Colonies in America, called Rupert's Land.}}</ref> after Prince Rupert,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Taylor |first=Isaac |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=faxMAAAAMAAJ |title=Names and Their Histories: A Handbook of Historical Geography and Topographical Nomenclature |publisher=Rivingtons |edition=2nd |location=London |publication-date=1898 |page=240 |chapter=Rupert's land |year=1898 |quote=Rupert's Land, an immense territory on [[Rupert River|Rupert's River]], south-west of Hudson's Bay, was discovered in 1668 by Captain [[Zachariah Gillam|Zacharias Gillam]], and named after Prince Rupert, the first governor of the Hudson's Bay Company, constituted in 1670 by Charles II, who granted Rupert's Land to Prince Rupert and other noblemen.|author-link=Isaac Taylor (priest) |access-date=3 December 2020}}</ref>
the first governor of the company appointed by the King. This drainage basin of Hudson Bay spans {{convert|3861400|km2|sqmi}},<ref>{{Cite web |year=1985 |title=Canada Drainage Basins |url=http://atlas.nrcan.gc.ca/site/english/maps/archives/5thedition/environment/water/mcr4055 |access-date=24 November 2010 |website=The National Atlas of Canada, 5th edition |publisher=Natural Resources Canada |archive-date=4 March 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110304184849/http://atlas.nrcan.gc.ca/site/english/maps/archives/5thedition/environment/water/mcr4055 |url-status=dead}}</ref> comprising over one-third of the area of modern-day Canada, and stretches into the present-day north-central [[United States]]. The specific boundaries remained unknown at the time. Rupert's Land would eventually become Canada's largest land [[Timeline of Rupert's Land and North-Western Territory transfer|"purchase"]] in the 19th century.<ref>{{Cite web |last=McIntosh |first=Andrew |last2=Smith |first2=Shirlee Anne |date=2006-02-07 |title=Rupert's Land |url=http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/ruperts-land/ |access-date=3 May 2017 |website=The Canadian Encyclopedia |publisher=Historica Canada}}</ref>

The HBC established six posts between 1668 and 1717. Rupert House (1668, southeast),{{sfn|Voorhis|1930|p=152}} [[Moose Factory]] (1673, south){{sfn|Voorhis|1930|p=119}} and Fort Albany, Ontario (1679, west){{sfn|Voorhis|1930|p=30}} were erected on James Bay; three other posts were established on the western shore of Hudson Bay proper: [[New Severn]] (1685),<ref>{{cite thesis |last=Christianson |first=David J. |title=New Severn or Nieu Savanne: The Identification of an Early Hudson Bay Fur Trade Post |date=1980 |access-date=2025-03-28 |type=MA thesis |publisher=[[McMaster University]] |url=http://hdl.handle.net/11375/10364 |pages=16, 28}}</ref> [[York Factory]] (1684), and [[Churchill, Manitoba|Fort Churchill]] (1717). Inland posts [[Asleep by the frozen sea|were not built]] until 1774. After 1774, York Factory became the main post because of its convenient access to the vast interior waterway-systems of the [[Saskatchewan River|Saskatchewan]] and [[Red River of the North|Red]] rivers. Originally called "factories" because the [[Factor (agent)|"factor"]], i.e., a person acting as a mercantile agent, did business from there, these posts operated in the manner of the Dutch fur-trading operations in [[New Netherland]]. By adoption of the Standard of Trade in the 18th century, the HBC ensured consistent pricing throughout Rupert's Land. A means of exchange arose based on the "[[Made Beaver]]" (MB); a prime pelt, worn for a year and ready for processing: "the prices of all trade goods were set in values of Made Beaver (MB) with other animal pelts, such as squirrel, otter and moose quoted in their MB (made beaver) equivalents. For example, two otter pelts might equal 1 MB".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Hbc Heritage {{!}} The Standard of Trade |url=http://www.hbcheritage.ca/hbcheritage/history/business/fur/standardtrade |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160416172949/http://hbcheritage.ca/hbcheritage/history/business/fur/standardtrade |archive-date=16 April 2016 |access-date=24 April 2016 |website=hbcheritage.ca}}</ref>
[[File:Indians at a Hudson Bay Company trading post.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Trading at an HBC trading post]]

During the fall and winter, [[First Nations in Canada|First Nations]] men and European [[fur trapping|fur trappers]] accomplished the vast majority of the animal trapping and pelt preparation. They travelled by [[canoe]] and on foot to the forts to sell their pelts. In exchange they typically received popular trade-goods such as knives, kettles, beads, needles, and the [[Hudson's Bay point blanket]]. The arrival of the First Nations trappers was one of the high points of the year, met with pomp and circumstance. The highlight was very formal, an almost ritualized "trading ceremony" between the chief trader and the captain of the Indigenous contingent who traded on their behalf.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Our History: Business: Fur Trade: Trading Ceremony at York Factory, 1780s |url=http://www.hbcheritage.ca/hbcheritage/history/business/fur/tradingceremony |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160313232933/http://www.hbcheritage.ca/hbcheritage/history/business/fur/tradingceremony |archive-date=13 March 2016 |publisher=HBC Heritage}}</ref> During the initial years of the fur trade, prices for items varied from post to post.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Our History: Business: Fur Trade: Standard of Trade |url=http://www.hbcheritage.ca/hbcheritage/history/business/fur/standardtrade |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160416172949/http://hbcheritage.ca/hbcheritage/history/business/fur/standardtrade |archive-date=16 April 2016 |publisher=HBC Heritage}}</ref>

The early coastal factory model of the English contrasted with the system of the French, who established an extensive system of inland posts at native villages and sent traders to live among the tribes of the region, learning their languages and often forming alliances through marriages with Indigenous women. In March 1686 the French sent a [[Hudson Bay expedition (1686)|raiding party]] under the [[Pierre de Troyes, Chevalier de Troyes|Chevalier de Troyes]] more than {{convert|1300|km|abbr= on}} to capture the HBC posts along James Bay. The French appointed [[Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville]], who had shown great heroism during the raids, as commander of the company's captured posts. In 1687 an English attempt to [[Battle of Fort Albany|resettle Fort Albany]] failed due to strategic deceptions by d'Iberville. After 1688 England and France [[King William's War|were officially at war]], and the conflict played out in North America as well. D'Iberville raided Fort Severn in 1690 but did not attempt to raid the well-defended local headquarters at York Factory. In 1693 the HBC [[Battle of Fort Albany (1693)|recovered Fort Albany]]; d'Iberville [[Capture of York Factory|captured York Factory]] in 1694, but the company recovered it the next year.{{sfn|Newman|1986|pp=151–158}}
[[File:La prise fort Bourbon dans la baie d'Hudson en 1694 par les Français.jpg|upright|thumb|Depiction of the [[capture of York Factory]] by French forces in 1694]]
In 1697, d'Iberville again commanded a French naval raid on York Factory. On the way to the fort he defeated three ships of the Royal Navy in the [[Battle of Hudson's Bay]] (5 September 1697), the largest naval battle in the history of the North American Arctic. D'Iberville's depleted French force captured York Factory by laying siege to the fort and pretending to be a much larger army. The French retained all of the outposts except Fort Albany until 1713. A small French and Indian force attacked Fort Albany again [[Battle of Fort Albany (1709)|in 1709]] during [[Queen Anne's War]] but was unsuccessful. The economic consequences of the French possession of these posts for the company were significant; the HBC did not pay any dividends for more than 20 years. See [[Anglo-French conflicts on Hudson Bay]].{{sfn|Newman|1986|pp=160–164}}